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Psychology A Level (AQA) > Research methods - A2 > Flashcards

Research methods - A2 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a case study

A

A case study is an experiment which studies only one person or a small group of people in depth and offers detailed analysis of often a unique circumstance.

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2
Q

What are some example of case studies

A
  • Little Albert - Watson and Rayner (Conditioning phobias)
  • Little Hans - Freud (Psychodynamic approach - Oedipus complex)
  • KF - Shallice and Warrington (Memory - STM)
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3
Q

What data do case studies collect and why might this be good but what might be bad about this

A

Qualitative data - non-numerical data
Strength:
Rich in-depth data,personal,valid,idiographic

Weakness:
Data is more subjective and not empirical or scientific, more difficult to generalise findings

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4
Q

How might the researcher study someone in a case study

A
  • Interviews
  • Observations
  • Questionnaires
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5
Q

What are strengths of a case study

A
  • Qualitative method: Rich in-depth data, personal, valid, idiographic
  • Can investigate rare human behaviours which to experimentally would be unethical
  • The interaction of different factors can be studied (co-variables)
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6
Q

What are weaknesses of a case study

A
  • Difficult to generalise / extrapolate to other people , lacking reliability
  • Retrospective information and past history can sometimes be unreliable
  • Ethical implications of confidentiality, as often cases are very rare and so easy to identify even if names are not used
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7
Q

What is content analysis

A

A research technique that enables the indirect study of behaviour by examining communications that people produce - e.g texts, emails, films and other media

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8
Q

What are the 5 steps of coding analysis

A

Data is collected

Researcher reads through or examines the data, making themselves familiar with it

The researcher identifies coding units

The data is analysed by applying the coding units

A tally is made of the number of times that a coding unit

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9
Q

What is thematic analysis

A

An inductive and qualitative approach to analysis that involves identifying implicit or explicit ideas within the dat. Themes will often emerge once the data has been coded

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10
Q

The differences between coding vs thematic analysis

A

Coding :
- Quantitative data
- Coding units

Thematic :
- Qualitative data
- More meaningful in-depth themes and descriptions

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11
Q

What are strengths of content analysis

A
  • Helps to avoid ethical issues associated with psychological research - material they want to study is often already within the public domain - no issue with obtaining permission
  • Communication of a more sensitive nature such as text messages still benefit from having high external validity
  • Content analysis is flexible in the sense that it may produce qualitative and quantitative data depending on the aims of the research
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12
Q

What is a weakness of content analysis

A
  • People tend to be studied indirectly as part of the content analysis so the communication they produce is usually analysed outside of the context within which it occured
  • There is a danger (like case studies) that the researcher may attribute opinions and motivations to the speaker or writer that were not intended originally
  • Lack of objectivity
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13
Q

What is reliability

A

When research can be replicated and provide the same results (the data is consistent)

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14
Q

At what number do we consider something to be reliable

A

0.8 >

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15
Q

What does intra and inter mean

A

Intra - internal (within itself)

Inter - external (between others)

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16
Q

What inter-oberver reliability

A

The extent to which there is an agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of a behaviour

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17
Q

What is inter-rater reliabilty

A

When the same test or diagnosis is conducted by different people and gets consistently similar or the same results

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18
Q

What is the main way of assessing reliability

A

Test - retest:
Administering the same test with the same people but on a different occasssion
Needs to be enough time in between original test and repeat that participants do not recall original answers but not enough time that attitudes or opinions may have changed

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19
Q

How may researchers assess inter-observer reliability

A

By using a pilot study of the observation observers can check they are applying behaviour categories in the same way

20
Q

In what 4 ways could a researcher improve reliability in questionnaires, interviews, experiments and observations

A
  • Questionnaires : The reliability of questionnaires over time should be measured using the test-retest method
    A questionnaire that produces low test-retest reliability may require some of the items to be deselected or rewritten due to the questions potentially being to complex or ambiguos
    They may as a result switch to closed, fix choice questions
  • Interviews: Consistenly use the same interviewer - if the interviewer is not consistently available make sure all interviewers are trained
    Might choose to use structured interviews where the interviewers behaviour is more controlled

Experiments: Control most often seen in lab experiments is the most reliable

Observations: The reliability of observations can be improved by making sure that the behavioural categories have been properly operationalised and that they are measurable and self-evident
Categories should not overlap and all possible behaviours should be covered on the checklist.

21
Q

What are the 4 types of validity

A

Internal
Ecological
Temporal
Face

22
Q

What is validity

A

The extent to which an observed effect is genuine (how accurate is the data)

23
Q

What is internal validity

A

Are the effects observed in an experiment due to the manipualtion of the independent variable and not some other factor (extraneous variables)

24
Q

What is ecological validity

A

The extent to which findings from a research study can be generalised to other settings and situations (form of external validity)

25
Q

What is temporal validity

A

Whether findings from a particular study or theory hold true over time (form of external validity)

26
Q

What is face validity

A

A basic form of validity in which a measure is scrutinised to determine whether it appears to measure what it is supposed to measure

27
Q

What are the 5 features of science

A
  • Paradigms & paradigm shifts
  • Objectivity & empiricism
  • Theory construction & hypothesis testing
  • Falsifiability
  • Replicability
28
Q

What is an empirical method (and what’s good about this)

A

When empirical methods are used data is gained through direct experience or observation

  • Empirical evidence is not based on personal feeling or emotion

This is important as people claims about anything but the only way we know such things to be true is through direct testing

29
Q

What is meant by objectivity (and what’s good about this)

A

Objective data is not affected by the expectations of the researcher (whereas subjective data is)

Researchers remain value free and totally unbiased in their investigations (not influenced by personal feelings or experiences)

In order to be objective the ideal is to carefully control conditions in which research is conducted (lab experiments)

30
Q

What is meant by theory construction

A

A theory is a collection of general principles that explain observations and facts

We devise implicit theories all the time

Scientific theories are formulated to explain behaviour that has been repeatedly observed

Once constructed a theory must be subjected to rigorous testing

31
Q

What is meant by hypothesis testing

A

Hypotheses are precise testable statements about the expected outcome of a research study

Theories are modified throughout the process of hypothesis testing
The only way to prove a theory is correct is to seek to disprove it (falsification)

Starting research with a null hypothesis
Either reject or accept

32
Q

What is meant by falsifiability

A

The possibility a statement or hypothesis can be proven wrong

33
Q

What is meant by paradigm and paradigm shifts

A

Paradigm - The basic assumptions, ways of thinking, and methods of study that are commonly accepted by members of a discipline or group.

Paradigm shift (Kuhn) - Is an important change in the basic concepts and experimental practices of a scientific discipline. It is a change from one way of thinking to another and is also referred to as ‘scientific revolution’

34
Q

An example of a paradigm shift is the development of new approaches and theories:

What is the timeline of approaches

A

17 - 19th century - psychology is apart of the broader discipline of philosophy

1632 - John Locke introduced Empricism

1879 - Wundt opens first lab in Leipzig Germany and introduces the idea of introspection (first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind)

1900s - Freud : Psychodynamic approach - Study and importance of the unconcious mind

1913 - Watson (Little Albert study) , Skinner : Behaviourist approach (that behaviour is all learnt and we are born taba la rasa)

1950s - Rogers & Maslow : Humanistic approach - studying behaviour and person a whole rather than reducing the behaviour into smaller, simpler ideas / person has free will

1960s - Cognitive - Brain is like a machine, research more scientific than Wundt

1960s - Bandura : Social learning theory - importance of modelled behaviour

1980s - Biological -Improvements in scientific and medical technology led to an increase in the understanding of brain function and other biological processes

2000s > - Cognitive neuroscience - understanding of how biological structures influence mental states

35
Q

What is the level of reliability

A

0.8

36
Q

What type of hypothesis is one-tailed

A

Directional

37
Q

If not given a level of significance what level of significance do we use

A

0.05 (p<0.05)

38
Q

What is a type 1 error

A

Rejecting a null hypothesis when you should have accepted (significance level too lenient - e.g 0.1 instead of 0.05)

39
Q

What is a type 2 error

A

Accepting a null hypothesis when you should have rejected (should have accepted the alternative) - significance level too strict - e.g 0.01 instead of 0.05

40
Q

When choosing an inferential test what are the 3Ds to help determine

A
  • Difference or correlation?
  • Data
  • Design
41
Q

What are the 3 types of data and explain them

A

Nominal : Categories

Ordinal : Rated/ Ordered

Interval : Specific units and numerical scales

42
Q

What are the different types of experimental designs

A

Repeated measures - Participants partake in all experimental conditions
Matched pairs - Participants are matched on certain characteristics and take part in different experimental conditions

Independent groups - Participants only partake in one experimental condition

43
Q

Unrelated t - test (3Ds)

A
  • Independent groups
  • Interval data
  • Difference
44
Q

How do you calculate the Df in unrelated t-test

A

N - 2

45
Q

Related t-test (3Ds)

A
  • Repeated measures / matched pairs
  • Interval data
  • Difference
46
Q

How do you calculate the Df in related t-test

A

N -1

47
Q

Pearsons Moment - r (3Ds)

A
  • Correlation
  • Interval
  • No design

Psychology A Level (AQA) (12 decks)

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